Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The briefing, What does 'Consent of the Governed' mean in U.S. territories? was organized in coordination with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and held on June 4th at the U.S. Senate. Congressman Pablo José Hernández (D-PR) spoke at the briefing, with Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett (D-VI), Kimberly King Hinds (R-NMI), and Nydia Velázquez (D-NY) participating via video recording. 

“Regardless of what your view is on the status of the territories and what their final status should be, we should all be united and we should all present a united front to address the current challenges, and current obstacles, and current inequalities, and current injustices. We should take advantage of the 250^th anniversary of the United States to educate the people of the United States about these lingering inequalities and challenges and to work towards solving them once and for all,” said Congressman Hernández, who is co-chair of the Territories and Commonwealths Caucus.

“As this nation confronts growing threats to our multi-racial democracy, the territories are not a footnote. We are a warning and a roadmap. We’re living proof of what happens when consent of the governed is made conditional, when constitutional protections are treated as negotiable, when second-class citizenship is sewn into law and dressed up as precedent," Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett said in a video statement. “True democracy and colonialism cannot coexist—not even when that colonialism wears the American flag.”

Congresswoman Kimberly King-Hinds shared in a video statement that “no American community should be too small or too remote to have its voice respected. As we approach America's 250th anniversary, we should recommit ourselves to ensuring that the principles of the Declaration of Independence apply equally to all Americans, including those living in the territories.”

“For more than three decades advocating for the people of Puerto Rico and our diaspora, I have said it plainly: the idea that the United States can hold colonies and claim plenary power over millions of people is far too reminiscent of King George III,” said Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez in a video statement. “We cannot let this anniversary pass without using it. It is a real chance to focus on what we have in common and how we move forward together: the people of the territories, our diaspora communities, and our allies in Congress and across the states. And we have to act with the urgency this moment demands. Our Founding Fathers rose to the challenge in front of them; it is on us to rise to ours."

The briefing provided Members of Congress and their staff with historical background on the current relationship between U.S. territories and the United States through the lens of the Declaration of Independence and the Insular Cases — a century-old legal framework rooted in racial and colonial prejudice — that continues to deny democracy, equity, and self-determination to residents of U.S. territories.

“Today's briefing made clear that the question of 'consent of the governed' in U.S. territories is not a relic of the past — it is a present reality that affects 3.6 million people every single day. Hearing directly from community leaders across the territories about how unilateral federal decisions shape their lives, their economies, and their environment made one thing undeniable: this undemocratic framework is unsustainable, and the federal government can no longer look away,” said Dr. Adi Martínez-Román, Co-Director of Right to Democracy, which works to advance democracy, equity, and self-determination in U.S. territories. “The U.S. must fulfill its duties under federal and international law and provide the territories with a pathway to self-determination.”

250 years ago, the United States rejected colonial rule through the Declaration of Independence, but for 125 years, the Insular Cases have allowed Congress to govern territories without full constitutional rights or self-determination,” said Neil Weare, Co-Director of Right to Democracy. “It is time for the federal government to recognize colonial rule cannot be squared with the principle of the consent of the governed.”

The briefing featured testimony from Right to Democracy's Environment and Democracy Fellows, who shared how federal decisions made without their input impact their communities on a day-to-day basis: María Hernandez, Co-director of the Micronesia Climate Change Alliance (Guam); Andra Samoa, community leader and Director of Pacific Global Citizens (American Samoa); Nayda Bobonis, Director of Strategic Relations & Advocacy at FURIA Inc. (Puerto Rico); Zeno De Leon Guerrero, Board Member of the Micronesian Climate Change Alliance (Northern Mariana Island), Imani Daniel, Executive Director, VIISION & Delegate to the U.S. Virgin Islands Constitutional Convention (U.S. Virgin Islands), and Dr. Sabrina Suluai Mahuka, Executive Director of Finafinau (American Samoa). 

New York Times bestselling author Daniel Immerwahr, author of How to Hide an Empire, also presented and highlighted how the failure to recognize the significance of people in U.S. territories is not just a matter of history, but an issue that has ongoing consequences today as the White House considers territorial expansion to places like Greenland.

“People can support democracy, equity, and self-determination in U.S. territories by signing our Declaration to End Colonial Rule in U.S. Territories, which was created alongside Right to Democracy’s Cross-Territorial Coalition,” said Martínez-Román. The Declaration is available: https://www.righttodemocracy.us/sign_the_declaration_to_end_colonial

For more information, please reach out to Neil Weare at neil@righttodemocracy.us or 202-365-7427